Economic forecast: Brewery hopes better times flow in 2021

Company: Good times were supposed to flow at Fort Myers Brewing in 2020. The brewery/tasting room/social hub — the oldest and largest brewery in Fort Myers, founded in 2011 — began the year planning a major expansion project. Approved by Lee County commissioners in 2019, the project revolved around building a 40,000-square-foot brewery, office, tasting hall and beer garden on land previously owned by the Lee County Port Authority. Fort Myers Brewing owners Ron and Jen Whyte acquired the 23-acre vacant parcel for the project, near Southwest Florida International Airport, for $2.05 million.

Instead of making major progress on that project in 2020, the company did something even more essential: survive the pandemic. Sales dropped 5% in 2020 over 2019 — a decrease Whyte consider a win given all the obstacles in running a business that relies on people being close together, drinking and socializing. “In March everything was all doom and gloom,” Whyte says. “But the year has turned out better than we expected when all this started.”